The
Prime Minister of England is crusading against it. He calls it, “the
darkest corners of the internet.” The Mayor of San Diego, Bob
Filner, has admitted to being
addicted. His political career is in shambles. Ariel Castro, the Ohio
abductor and abuser of three young women, claims, “it took a toll
on my mind.” And Anthony Weiner can’t seem to stop texting
it, even though it imperils his candidacy for Mayor of New York City.

Pornography
is something dark that takes a cruel toll.

Astronomers
theorize that the universe is mostly something called “dark matter.”
We can’t see it, hence the name. Scientists don’t know much
about it. The theoretical mass of the universe seems to require that
dark matter exist. The most weighty substance in the universe may be
dark matter.

Could
it be that sexual evil is the dark matter of the human soul?

The
gospel writer Matthew reports Jesus saying, “You have heard that
it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that
anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart.”

Family
Safe Media calls pornography the drug of the new millenium. On their
website they report that every second there are 28,258 people viewing
vile images over the world wide web. There are 24,644,172 pornographic
websites that 40 million Americans regularly visit. The most popular
day for visiting these sites is Sunday.

The
problem with porn has not gone unnoticed by either the public or the
church. Ten years ago popular evangelical pastor Rick Warren found that
three out of ten pastors are leering at their computer screens. And
a Baptist minister in Florida is making news with a new website. Jay
Dennis wants you to visit joinonemillionmen.org and make a commitment
to stop peeking. Dennis says, “I believe as many as 80 percent
of men in the church are struggling with viewing pornography.”

The
great Christian humanist, Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, was himself
the illegitimate son of a man who later became a priest. Ordained on
his own in 1492, Erasmus -- while never breaking with Rome -- was sharp
in his criticism of abuses within the Church. He pointed especially
to the widespread sexual disorders of his day: "Let them prate
as they will of the status of monks and virgins. Those who under the
pretext of celibacy live in [sexual] license might better be castrated....[T]here
is...a horde of priests among whom chastity is rare."

As
bad as it was five hundred years ago it is hard to conclude things have
improved in the intervening years. The search giant Google is devoted
to making porn available worldwide. This horrid worship of porn by western
cultures in the name of freedom led China to ban Google in the world’s
most populous nation.

Even
England is now being forced to her knees by the problem. The Prime Minister
David Cameron said this year, “I feel profoundly as a politician,
and as a father, that the time for action has come," Cameron said.
"This is, quite simply, about how we protect our children and their
innocence."

Surely
it is reasonable to ask the question, “Would things be different
now for Anthony Weiner, Ariel Castro and Bob Filner if our society had
not slipped down the sexual revolution’s slope?” Adults
who are devoted to innocence, virtue and righteousness don’t simply
protect children from lust. They turn their own eyes away from the temptation.

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Jesus
concluded his thought on adultery cited above, “If your right
eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be
thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off
and throw it away. It is better for you to have one part of your body
than for your whole body to go into hell.”

Dark
matter may be the most massive thing in the universe, but helium is
lighter than air. All the stuff of earth, helium and the material that
forms us and all we know, is thrown off during a star’s lifecycle.
The light of these stars and galaxies penetrates the dark matter and
still illuminates the eye that is raised to heaven.

Michael
Heath has represented Christians in the public square for nearly three
decades. As executive director of the historic Christian Civic League
of Maine, Heath has been an outspoken advocate for moral values. Working
alongside Dr. Dobson, Heath led a statewide family policy council for
sixteen years.

Heath received
the Family Research Council’s Family Faith and Freedom Award in
1998. He led multiple statewide campaigns -- including a memorable People’s
Veto, which sent two hundred thousand Mainers to the polls in the dead
of winter, just after a devastating ice storm which crippled all of Central
Maine.

Heath served
on the Governor’s Gambling Task Force, as well as on a Legislative
Commission on Fatherhood. Just after college, Heath spent four years leading
a ministry helping people struggling with substance abuse and/or mental
illness.

Heath is married
to Paulie, an inspirational singer, songwriter and speaker. They have
three grown sons.

In recent years
the Heaths have traveled to East Africa multiple times, working alongside
missionaries in Tanzania to promote solar cooking in remote villages.
Mike served as State Director for the Ron Paul Presidential Campaign in
Iowa in 2011.